.

I’m in the process of visiting and evaluating a number of “vintage” stores in LA, and once I’m done I will be writing them up here.  This is not an official review of Jetrag, a vintage clothing house in West Hollywood, but I’m going to give them a premature Modestia shout-out for this little swim number I bought a few days ago:

I bought this very cute and very modest vintage swim dress for…$14. 

I was walking to the dressing room with a bunch of dresses to try on when I saw it out of the corner of my eye. The navy blue is offset with white piped trim and a white belt.  The belt will have to be replaced because of some rust stains…but oh Jetrag, what you do to me.

Her new album “Love Travels” is now available on ITunes.  Me gusta.

Slowly but surely as I purchase items from online stores or discover new modest-minded enterprises I think you should know about, I will review them here. Next week I will be publishing an official Modestia review of Eliza Magazine; this week’s review is of the online boutique Myshape.com.

Back in February, I asked what you thought I should wear to the Catholic Underground LA RED Party. I didn’t end up picking any of the options you voted on, but rather ordered this pleated floral skirt by AGB, priced at $40 from Myshape.com.

Admittedly, I was really nervous about ordering from Myshape because I had never ordered anything from the site before and the clock was ticking. The party was on a Saturday, and I ordered the skirt on Monday evening. Much to my surprise, I received my package on Thursday morning!

Part of the reason I received my order so quickly was because the warehouse and I are located in the same state. However, Myshape still gets major points for such fast service because I have ordered from certain sites like Old Navy.com that can take anywhere from 2-3 days just to process your order, even if you select rush shipping.

The skirt was beautiful, exactly as pictured, and well-made. I used the sizing guide on the site, and it fit perfectly. The skirt came wrapped in a pretty bag within the box like a present, complete with a signed card of thanks for ordering. There was no discount card included for my next purchase, but since I am a registered member of the site, I receive sale and discount emails a few times a week.

Overall, I was very happy with my purchase, and on the day of the party I received a number of compliments. I will be ordering from Myshape again, and I think I can officially say that Myshape.com is Modestia-approved!

Nicole Ricci

Kate Moss

Monica

Rachel Zoe…I just bought a yellow and grey day dress. The colors work for some reason.

Eva Mendes

And my favorite of the lot, Kerry Washington

Camilla Belle has signed on to be the new spokesperson for H.E.L.P, a non-profit organization established in Malawi, Africa that is dedicated to making a difference by giving children hope, education, love, protection and a chance to make their aspirations and dreams become a reality.

Camilla and H.E.L.P. have partnered with the Lori Leavitt Collection to create the re-launch of Leavitt’s Panthera Collection, a jewelry collection dedicated to H.E.L.P.’s “What Love Means” campaign that is giving 100% of its profits back to the children of Malawi. The collection includes necklaces, bracelets, rings, cufflinks and key chains with a 14kt gold lion in each piece, as a reference to the 1860s piece of jewelry that inspired the line. Prices begin at $40 for Vintage African bracelets and then run from $98- $2050. Learn more about H.E.L.P and shop the collection at helpmalawichildren.org.

Source

In honor of the production’s return to broadway, Vanity Fair recreated some scenes in a new photoshoot. I’m not really posting these for their modesty, but because I know some of you have to be West Side Story fans like myself!

Celebs in the shoot include Jennifer Lopez, Camilla Belle, and many others.

I kid you not, for the last three or four weeks, at least 85% of the fashion posts I’ve seen about newly married Jessica Alba have demeaned her for being “frumpy.”

Dressing modestly does not equate to being frumpy. Just because Jessica hasn’t been seen wearing any low cut, super tight, Herve Ledger dresses like some of her fellow actress contemporaries does not indicate that she has no sense of style, or even that getting married and having a baby somehow diminishes your sense of self. Case in point, here’s some shots of JA a the LA premiere of “Sugar”:

Wear’s the frump? I honestly don’t see it…

I got into an auto accident last night—a 3-car pile up initiated by a drunk driver. I’m fine, but posting is on hold until tomorrow.

~Rebecca

Toni Rossi interviewed my good friend Jessica Rey on his blog, “The Intersection.”

Jes talks about her faith, speaking to kids about chastity, and the upcoming fashion show I’ve talked about previously on this blog.

Some snippits:

TR: Your recent focus has been on giving talks to young people about chastity and modesty. What made you start doing that?

Jessica Rey: I despise public speaking, and I know it’s so strange because I’m an actress. But there’s a difference. When you’re acting, it’s somebody else’s words and you’re playing another character. But when you give talks, it’s you yourself…so it is quite frightening. I didn’t want to do it. A lot of my priest friends kept asking me to do it, and I kept saying, “No, no.”

One day my friends went to this Christmas party and I was sick. At the Christmas party, they had these saint’s cards. They have them upside down and they pick one, and you’re supposed to pray to that saint for the rest of the year. I couldn’t go to the party so my friend said, “I’ll get you a card.” So she got me one, she gets home, and I say, “Who’d I get?” She looked at it and it was St. Bernardine of Siena – and I had no idea who that was at the time. I went and looked him up on the Internet and he’s the patron saint of public speaking (laughs). So I said, “Fine God, fine!” and I gave in and started doing it.

TR: Did those topics interest you throughout your life or did you learn about them the hard way by doing the opposite for a while?

Jessica Rey: I wasn’t doing the opposite to an extreme but I definitely didn’t understand fully chastity and definitely not modesty, especially having been in Hollywood for a while. I had a stylist who would dress me in these crazy outfits and I would walk down the red carpet thinking I was all that. I really wasn’t (laughs). So thankfully I learned about it fully before I really got into some bad stuff. But I grew up Catholic and always kind of knew. I just didn’t fully understand it. I learned about it from some people that I met in Hollywood. We actually had a group called “Holywood” and we would do a lot of formation, lots of different talks, Theology of the Body type stuff. So that’s how I fully learned about it.

TR: How do you make the concepts of chastity and modesty appealing to young people when you’ve got so many cultural forces promoting the opposite?

Jessica Rey: I think it’s really important that the people who give these talks are themselves younger and…they’re hipper and with the times. You know, (kids are) not really going to listen to it if it’s from their parents. Most kids don’t, sadly, so it does help that I’m younger, it helps that I’ve been on TV and kids think that’s really cool…And it’s crazy because I was just a Power Ranger (laughs)! I’m not an a-list celebrity that has been in a ton of blockbuster films. But they still think it’s cool that someone in Hollywood is living this life.

TR: So what should churches be doing better to reach out to young people?

Jessica Rey: My friends and I are actually starting – and I know that these exist throughout the country – but we’re going to be starting up some fashion shows here in Southern California. And the fashion show again is this cool thing that the girls want to be a part of. But it’s (also) going to be six weeks of formation on what it means to be a woman, how a man should treat you, we’re going to talk about courtship, modesty and dress, and just all of (those things) they’re not really getting.

Read the rest here.

A very cute and pregnant Allyson Hannigan with her husband.

Eva Mendes

Keira Knightley

Ali Landry with daughter Estela…I like those shades…

Jennifer Lopez coming out from a recording studio.

Lily Allen at the Chanel Show in Paris

And my new favorite celeb, Freida Pinto at the same Chanel Show…

The Orange County Board of Supervisors has voted unanimously to rescind a contract with Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernardino Counties because of the organization’s links to abortion.

“I don’t believe the county should be funding abortion, and I don’t believe the county really should be involved in funding an organization who performs about 35 percent of the abortions in the country,” said Supervisor Chris Norby, the Orange County Register reported.

The 5-0 vote came on Tuesday, March 10, following a lengthy debate and many comments from the public. Supervisors directed county staff to end funding to Planned Parenthood within 30 days under a $7.5 million contract with the Orange County Coalition of Community Clinics. County health officials should find another member of the community clinics coalition that could use Planned Parenthood’s share of the contract money, supervisors decided.

Read the rest here.

My favorite BF song…ever.

The first article I was interviewed for has been posted on the National Catholic Register’s website. I haven’t read the final copy, so you’ll have to tell me what it says. Big thanks to Celeste Behe for making me sound articulate and NCR editor Tom Hoopes for greenlighting this piece and the forthcoming article.

You can read “2 Blog Wonder” here. The article will also appear in Sunday’s print edition.

In other news, I’m on spring break, and as soon as I took my last midterm I packed Frankie and made a break for the border. I’m at home in San Diego until Sunday, trying to keep away from Facebook, email, my cell phone, spend some time with my mom and dog, and (maybe?) get my wisdom teeth removed. I swear getting these things pulled has been an ongoing saga that doesn’t seem to end. One of my BFFs from the Naval Academy is coming home on Friday and I’m looking forward to seeing her too.

I like to treat my school breaks as a retreat. Last night I was reading/meditating on 1 Kings and thought I’d share a passage with you:

Then the LORD said, “Go outside and stand on the mountain before the LORD; the LORD will be passing by.”

A strong and heavy wind was rending the mountains and crushing rocks before the LORD–but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake–but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake there was fire–but the LORD was not in the fire. After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound. When he heard this, Elijah hid his face in his cloak and went and stood at the entrance of the cave. A voice said to him, “Elijah, why are you here?” He replied, “I have been most zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts. But the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to the sword. I alone am left, and they seek to take my life.” “Go, take the road back to the desert near Damascus,” the LORD said to him. “When you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king of Aram. Then you shall anoint Jehu, son of Nimshi, as king of Israel, and Elisha, son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah, as prophet to succeed you. If anyone escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu will kill him. If he escapes the sword of Jehu, Elisha will kill him. Yet I will leave seven thousand men in Israel–all those who have not knelt to Baal or kissed him.”

Elijah expected to meet God on the mountain in all of these mighty things, and yet God was in the silence. I think it stuck out to me because I’ve been feeling so anxious and overwhelmed lately.

Just for the record, I feel way better. The past couple of days have given me a break and some perspective on why I do what I do.

Pax Christi, Rebecca.

One of my Family Theater girlfriends saw this film at a pre-screening and said that while it was funny, the message was a little off. I think I fully agree with that conclusion to a certain extent.

GiGi, played by Giniffer Goodwin, is “that girl” we’ve all known and loved. She’s cute, smart, and funny, but overanalyzes everything when it comes to dating. When Gigi meets Alex (Justin Long), a sarcastic bartender who dishes out free dating advice, Gigi changes the way she dates, taking into account that “he just might not be that into her.” Also interwoven into the film is the story of Ben and Janine (Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Connolley), a couple whose marriage is on the rocks due to a number of reasons including Ben making “friends” with the beautiful and single Anna (Scarlett Johanssen), Beth and Neil (Jennifer Anniston and Ben Affleck), a couple whose been together forever but just can’t seem to get married, and Connor and Mary. Connor is a real estate agent who pines after Anna, but just can’t seem to understand why the spark has been lost in their relationship (probably because she’s busy sexing married men.) Mary is a graphic designer whose storyline was somewhat lost on me and I thought the film could have done without.

I will admit the movie was funny. I went and saw it with one of my girlfriends and we were cackling the entire time (though nervously thinking, “Oh crap, do I do that?”) I also think it definitely told some truths about women in the dating game—overanalyzing, over emotionalism, etc. I’ve never read the book, but I’ve been told that the basic message is that if “he” doesn’t do “x” like calling you, he doesn’t like you. But what confused me about the film was that at the end, some of the storylines get wrapped in a pretty bow with the boy and girl skipping off into the sunset. It seemed a bit contradictory to me.

One big thing that I didn’t like (other than Scarlet Johanssen’s homewrecker character) was the message that “if he’s not having sex with you, he’s just not that into you.” The editing of the film is meant to copy the chapters of the book, and that message was titled in bold print across the screen for that portion of the film. It was actually applicable to the following scenes about Beth and Neil’s marriage, but as soon as I saw the title I couldn’t help but steam in my chair knowing that there were teenage girls sitting all around me who were taking that message as black and white truth. (Girls, that’s not true! I know this as fact!)

The film was funny, but your life won’t be missing anything if you don’t see it.

Spring is upon us (at least for those of us on the west coast) and as always, floral designs are back in season.

Making a comeback are rose details, mainly designed as rolled roses on garments such as dresses, tops, accessories, etc. Freida Pinto & Eva Mendes have been snapped sporting this very feminine trend.

 
For belts like Freida and Eva’s, try one (or both) of the followeing pieces.  The first comes in three colors for $31.90 at Nordstrom, the second chain belt from Spiegel for $21.99.

Or, take this “scarf” and wrap it around your waist for a belt. $60 at Etsy by 1000roads.

Casual T-shirt, $77 at Urban Minx

This silk tank would be great for a night out, $79.95 at EShakti.com.

For some adventure, try this sea green chemise dress, $120 at Etsy. There’s something I like about this one; it’s feminine yet still kinda edgy.

If you’re feeling couture, try this Spanish Rose Dress by Robert Rodriguez from FunkyLala, on sale at $278: 

Asymmetrical floral necklaces are also a must-have. For a cheaper option, take some of your chain necklaces and snap on a hair flower, like so:

Coming this May, Forever 21 will be launching its plus size line “Faith 21.”

According to the LA Times article, “Faith 21 will offer tops, jeans, tanks, leggings and skirts in a junior plus size as well as XL, 1X and 2X. The design aesthetic follows Forever 21’s trendy take on everything from runway knockoffs to jersey basics.”

Eh—can’t say I’m all that excited about it given that I can’t walk to class without thinking, “Yup, saw that at Forever 21.” I stopped shopping there years ago because you can’t walk in there without 50+ 16-year-olds mauling each other for the same top. But from the sounds of it, Faith 21 will start off exclusive (it’s only being released in four locations) and then move into total mall domination. Perhaps what I love most about LA is that there are a number of stores spread across this smog-laden land that have cute, unique clothes for cheap.  Many times only a few pieces will be made of each item.  I have one favorite store in particular that moves stock every week, and nothing in the entire store is over $40. (They literally know me when I walk in the door, LOL.)

Check out some of Faith 21’s looks:

(Sorry I’ve been MIA; I’ve had the flu the past couple of days.)

Via Glamour Magazine:

Camilla Belle as Mary Tyler Moore

Alicia Keys as Michelle Obama

Emma Roberts as Audrey Hepburn

America Ferrera as Dolores Huerta

Hayden Penetierre as Amelia Earhart

Chanel Iman as Athea Gibson

My favorite shot of the bunch–Alexis Bledel as Rosie the Riveter